Examining the construct validity of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory–Revised: Preferential correlates of fearless dominance and self-centered impulsivity.

Abstract

Although the construct of psychopathy is frequently construed as a unitary syndrome, the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI; Lilienfeld & Andrews, 1996) and its revision, the PPI-R (Lilienfeld & Widows, 2005), are composed of 2 scales, termed Fearless Dominance (FD) and Self-Centered Impulsivity (SCI), which appear to reflect orthogonal dimensions. In this study, we examined the construct validity of the FD and SCI scales of the PPI-R as markers of these constructs with a range of theoretically relevant correlates assessed across multiple domains in a sample of 200 forensic psychiatric inpatients. Results were generally, though not uniformly, consistent with hypothesized relationships: The SCI scale positively and selectively predicted anger and hostility, impulsivity, total psychiatric symptoms, drug abuse or dependence, antisocial behavior, and violence risk, whereas FD predicted anger, depression, anxiety symptoms (negatively), and alcohol abuse or dependence (positively).

The Inconsistency of Inconsistency Scales: A Comparison of Two Widely Used Measures

“…There is evidence for the convergent and discriminant validity of the PPI-R with respect to Levenson's SelfReport Psychopathy Scale (LSRP; Levenson, Kiehl, & Fitzpatrick, 1995), and the SelfReport Psychopathy Scale-II (SPR-II, Hare, 1985). Support for the construct validity of the PPI-R is also evident in associations between this scale and theoretically relevant subscales from measures such as the PAI (e.g., Antisocial Features, Aggression, and Dominance) and the NEO-Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI; Costa & McCrae, 1992; e.g., Negative Relationships with Agreeableness and Conscientiousness; DeMauro & Leung, 2005;Lilienfeld & Widows, 2005) and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (Edens & McDermott, 2010).…”

Deficient aversive-potentiated startle and the triarchic model of psychopathy: The role of boldness

“…Marcus et al, 2013). In contrast to PCL-R Factor 1, PPI-R Fearless Dominance shows negative associations with anxiety indices and questionnaires (Benning et al, 2003;Benning, Patrick, Blonigen et al, 2005;Edens & McDermott, 2010;Lilienfeld & Widows, 2005;Patrick, Edens, Poythress, Lilienfeld, & Benning, 2006;Ross et al, 2007;Uzieblo, Verschuere, & Crombez, 2007;Uzieblo, Verschuere, Van den Bussche, & Crombez, 2010).…”

Psychopathic personality and utilitarian moral judgment in college students

“…In a sample of 758 college students a three-factor model (PPI-I, PPI-II, and Coldheartedness) has been derived with the PPI-SF (Smith, Edens, & Vaughn, 2011). Studies have suggested that PPI-I is strongly positively associated with interpersonal dominance, and negatively related to internalizing psychopathology, including anxiety and depression (Benning, Patrick, & Iacono, 2005;Edens & McDermott, 2010;Lilienfeld & Widows, 2005). In contrast, PPI-II tends to be positively correlated with internalizing measures and is positively correlated with externalizing measures including impulsivity, hostility, and aggression (Edens & McDermott, 2010;Lilienfeld & Widows, 2005).…”

“…Studies have suggested that PPI-I is strongly positively associated with interpersonal dominance, and negatively related to internalizing psychopathology, including anxiety and depression (Benning, Patrick, & Iacono, 2005;Edens & McDermott, 2010;Lilienfeld & Widows, 2005). In contrast, PPI-II tends to be positively correlated with internalizing measures and is positively correlated with externalizing measures including impulsivity, hostility, and aggression (Edens & McDermott, 2010;Lilienfeld & Widows, 2005). Behavioral genetic studies have indicated that PPI-I was associated with a reduced genetic risk for internalizing disorders, and PPI-II was associated with an increased genetic risk for externalizing disorders (Blonigen, Hicks, Krueger, Patrick, & Iacono, 2005).…”